A Tribute to Lester (Hank) Talkington

by Lloyd Motz, Astronomy (Emeritus), Columbia University

THE FIRST ISSUE OF Science and Nature, which grew out
of the collaborative efforts of Lester Talkington, Hyman Cohen, and myself,
appeared in the fall of 1978. We three had started a discussion group, the Dialectical
Workshop, and as the project grew, with the participation of increasing numbers
of scientists, and philosophers and historians of science, the idea of a journal
became ever more attractive to Talkington and Cohen. Knowing, as an author and
subscriber to various scientific journals, how difficult and costly it is to
start a new journal in this area, I was hesitant about the idea although I agreed
with them that such a journal was desirable. So persuasive was Talkington, however,
that I overcame my skepticism and went along with my two colleagues. Science
and Nature was thus born, with the three of us as its editorial committee.

If I had known then Talkington’s remarkable talents and dedication to our,
initially meager, publication project, I should have cast aside all doubt and
accepted the inevitable success of the journal. By the time of its third issue
Science and Nature had received international recognition and acquired
an editorial committee of fifteen known scholars; its list of contributors was
global, including outstanding scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers.
All of this stemmed from Talkington’s efforts and his own financial resources.
At no point in the development of this journal did Hank doubt that any issue
he was planning would appear, and each issue, with increasing richness, did
appear exactly as he had planned it.

How tragic it is, then, that our beloved and self-sacrificing
editor was seriously injured in an automobile accident on November 2,1988 and,
after a valiant struggle to survive, died in Nyack Hospital on February 3, 1989.
This issue of Science and Nature is, thus, necessarily incomplete, but,
even so, it is a beautiful example of Talkington’s remarkable ability to enrich
an issue, not only by his excellent editing, but also by his written contributions.
In this issue his paper "On Contradictions within Scientific Knowledge"
presents an analysis of the contradiction between the subjective and objective
aspects of knowledge suggesting that this contradiction can be resolved, or,
at least, understood by a historical materialist approach. Whether we agree
or not, we are stimulated and provoked by papers of this caliber. This should
be the role of journals such as Science and Nature, for they must be
the conscience of the scientific community. That our journal has been such is
a great tribute to Talkington’s genius.